Eventually, Lock and Tina head south, past
mountains and forests, and into the desert, fighting off monsters along the way.
It soon becomes evident that what Lock can steal varies depending on the
opponent. At this point, most have minor healing items.

Before long, they reach a large stone structure in the middle
of the desert. Guards riding chocobo, which are large birds used like horses,
patrol the area, and another guard stands by the entrance. He stops them.

A merchant in a side room sells some
odd machinery. Buy a Blast Voice and Bio Blast if you have the
money, but skip the Auto Crossbow, since you'll be getting one
automatically before long.

The party proceeds to the throne room.
A young man with golden hair in a mid-back length braid sits
on one of two thrones, wearing a green and blue outfit with
a regal blue cape. He briefly consults with Lock, then stands
and looks at Tina.

「この娘が…

: This girl...

MAN: You mean, THIS young
woman...?!

He walks over to better look her over,
then heads back.

{ﾃｨﾅ}「誰？あなたは。

{Tina}: Who are you?

{TERRA}: Who do you think you
are?

The NA version makes this sound like an
accusation. I think she's just curious.

He turns and wiggles his finger chidingly.

「おっと失礼。

: Ah, excuse me.

MAN: Oh...sorry!

「初対面のレディに対して
する態度ではなかったな。

: That was hardly a proper attitude
for my first meeting with a lady.

MAN: How rude of me to turn my back to a lady!

He uses the English word "lady",
which is uncommon (though not unheard of) in Japanese. It might
be appropriate to use a more exotic term here and elsewhere,
especially considering he's the only character in the game
to use the word (except one instance later on used to assert
that only Edgar would say "lady").

機械文明の旗手
砂漠の城フィガロを有し
帝国との同盟も結んでいる若き王……

At the forefront of technological civilization
is the young king of the desert castle of Figaro,
bound in an alliance with the Empire...

The young king of Figaro Castle,
ally to the Empire, and a
master designer of machinery...

She's not necessarily talking about him.
Actually, given her next line, it's more likely she's wondering what's wrong with
herself for not swooning over him.

Edgar starts walking away, talking to himself.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「私の口説きの
テクニックもさびついたかな？

{Edgar}: Could my flirting
technique have gone rusty?

{EDGAR}: Guess my technique's getting a bit rusty...

There's a line in the ROM that fits here
but isn't used in either version:

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「また後で
私のところへ来てくれ。

{Edgar}: Come see me again later.

{EDGAR}: Come find me when you feel rested.

Edgar leaves, looking a bit downcast.

{ﾃｨﾅ}「そうなのね……
普通の女の人なら、その言葉に何かの
感情を持つのね。
でも わたしは……

{Tina}: It figures...
A normal woman would have felt
something in those words.
But I...

{TERRA}: Hmm...I suppose a normal girl would have found him dashing.
But I'm hardly...normal...

It's something of a staple of Japanese
dialog to avoid stating outright what can be implied. Though
sometimes it's frustrating.

Tina wanders about the castle, which isn't
especially unremarkable for a castle, except that it's in the middle
of the desert and seems to have a lot of complicated half-hidden
machinery. There's also this interesting tidbit in a side basement
room.

この先はフィガロ城機関部。
急な出動に備えて
メンテの真最中でっせ！

Beyond here is Figaro Castle's engine room.
We're undergoing constant maintenance
to be ready to go into action at any time!

Beyond is the Figaro Castle Engine Room.
We're ready to leave at a moment's notice!

Surely he's not saying the castle itself
moves... is he? Regardless, Tina eventually speaks to a person
in a side tower who allows the story to advance.

神官長「{エドガー}にも双子の
弟がいました。
家族おもいのいい子だったのに。

High Priest: {Edgar} had a
younger twin brother.
He was a good, family-minded boy.

MATRON: {EDGAR} has a twin
brother. He was such a nice
boy...

Begin flashback: Edgar sits in a room of the
castle, and muscular young man stands nearby. He resembles
Edgar, but his golden hair is spiked on top in addition to a braid
in back similar to Edgar's, and he wears what looks like a blue
bodybuilding outfit, with wristbands and a sleeveless shirt. 2-2
"Coin Song", a more subdued, almost mournful,
variant of "Edgar & Sabin", plays (the title
makes sense later).

「兄貴
親父突然どうしたんだろ？
後継ぎの話なんてしだして…
{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「お前は気づかなかったか？
親父のやせた顔をみて。

: Big bro.
What's wrong with dad all of a sudden?
And they're starting to talk about an heir...
{Edgar}: Haven't you realized?
Look how thin dad's face is.

YOUTH: Brother,
What's wrong with father?
What's all this talk of his successor?
{EDGAR}: Are you blind?
Look how thin his face has become!

「？……何の事だい？

: Huh? ...what's that supposed to mean?

YOUTH: ?......What is it?

Edgar abruptly gets up
and heads for the exit.

「兄貴！

: Big bro!

YOUTH: Brother!

「涙……？

: Tears...?

YOUTH: Tears......?!

王族の地位をすて
自由をこの手にするため城を飛び出した
{エドガー}のふたごの弟

{Edgar}'s younger twin brother,
who cast aside his status as royalty
and fled the castle to take hold of freedom.

Meanwhile, out in the desert, Cefca and two
Imperial soldiers approach. Since Cefca was previously only seen
in Tina's sepia-tinted flashback, it was impossible to see the
garish mix of red and green in his outfit. What appears to be an
unsightly cheap light brown wig with a similarly ugly red feather
nevertheless fails to divert attention from his beady little eyes.

ｹﾌｶ「ふゥ～
ガストラさまの命令とは言え…

Cefca: Phew...
Gastra-sama's orders or not...

KEFKA: Phooey!
Emperor Gestahl's stupid orders!

ｹﾌｶ「まったく{エドガー}め！
こんな場所にチンケな城を
建てやがって。
ていさつにはけんされた私の身にも
なってみやがれ！

Cefca: Dammit, {Edgar}!
Building a fucking lame-ass
castle in a place like this.
Spare a little thought for the poor
guy sent out here on recon!

KEFKA: {EDGAR}, you pinhead!
Why do you have to live in the middle of nowhere?
These recon jobs are the pits!

Cefca notices the soldiers
as if for the first time.

ｹﾌｶ「ほれ、クツの砂！

Cefca: Hey, there's sand on my boots!

KEFKA: Ahem...there's SAND on
my boots!

They rush to attend to
his sudden whim.

兵士「ハッ！
きれいになりました！

Soldier: Sir!
All clean!

SOLDIERS: Yes, Sir!
All set, Sir!

Cefca laughs insanely, as he often does,
then gets a sudden look of annoyance.

ｹﾌｶ「つまらん！！

Cefca: How stupid!!

KEFKA: Idiots!

Cefca and the soldiers walk up to Figaro
Castle and are met by the gate guard.

ケフカさま。
今日はいったい何の……
ｹﾌｶ「どけ！！

Cefca-sama.
What on earth brings you...
Cefca: Outta my way!!

Sir Kefka!?
What on earth do...
KEFKA: Outta my way!

As the three enter the castle courtyard,
Edgar comes out to meet them. He speaks first to the soldiers,
probably to put off having to deal with Cefca.

Edgar is rather more confrontational, far too
much in my opinion, in the NA version. Certainly he isn't happy to see
them, but showing that openly would be terrible diplomacy. In the JP
version, he does a good job of keeping his composure and being
relatively polite and pleasant, at least superficially, while still
making it clear that he isn't pleased to see them here.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「３つの国を
滅ぼしたようだな。
どういうつもりなんだ？
帝国兵「お前らの知るところではない。

{Edgar}: I've heard you've
overthrown three countries.
What are your intentions?
Imperial Soldier: That's not for you to know.

{EDGAR}: You've been busy down south!
Looking for more cities to destroy?
TROOPER: That's for us to know!

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「同盟を結んでいる
わが国へも攻め込まんという
勢いだな。
帝国兵「同盟？ねぼけるな！
こんなちっぽけな国が！

{Edgar}: You seem poised to invade
even my country, which is bound
to yours in alliance.
Imperial Soldier: Alliance? Quit dreaming!
A puny country like this?

{EDGAR}: I thought we were allies! What are you doing in my domain?TROOPER: Allies?
The Empire and this back-water, two-bit kingdom?!

Oddly, this soldier's response never displays
in the NA version, even though the text is in the ROM. Edgar's line ends with the
wrong code (0x00), making the dialog end instead of clearing the textbox and
continuing (0x13).

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「ガストラ皇帝
直属の魔導士ケフカがわざわざ
出向くとは？
ｹﾌｶ「帝国から一人の娘が
逃げ込んだって話を聞いてな。

{Edgar}: What brings Emperor Gastra's
direct subordinate, the Sorcerer Cefca,
out of his way to come here?
Cefca: I've heard a girl fled here
from the Empire.

{EDGAR}: What brings Kefka, humble servant of Emperor Gestahl,
into our lowly presence?
KEFKA: A girl of no importance recently escaped from us.
We heard she found refuge here...

In the JP version, the mention that Cefca
reports directly to the emperor indicates that he's someone of
particular importance, and someone that it's especially unwise
to upset. The NA version makes it sound like he's just another
minion.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「魔導の力を持っている
という娘のことか…？
ｹﾌｶ「お前達には関係のないことだ。
それより、ここにいるのか？

{Edgar}: Could you mean the girl said
to possess the power of sorcery...?
Cefca: None of your business.
Never mind that, is she here?

{EDGAR}: Hmm...this wouldn't have anything to do with this "witch"
everyone's been whispering about, would it?
KEFKA: Lies!
She...merely stole something of minor value.
Is she here?

In the JP version, Cefca doesn't bother
trying to cover things up. He just barges in, demands to know if
the girl's there, and it's none of anyone's business whether she's
important or not. Just give him what he wants, or he'll throw a hissy
fit. Bothering with a lie would probably strike him as a waste of
effort.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「さあ…

{Edgar}: Who can say...?

{EDGAR}: That's a tough one!

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「娘は星の数ほど
いるけどなあ…
ｹﾌｶ「かくしても、何もいいことはない
のにねえ… ヒッヒッヒ…

{Edgar}: The girls here number as
many as the stars in the sky...
Cefca: Nothing good will come of
hiding her... hee, hee, hee...

{EDGAR}: You see, there're more girls here than grains
of sand out there. I can't keep track of 'em all!
KEFKA: I'd hate to be you if we find out you're lying...
Mwa, ha!

The expression 窮屈な思いをする
(kyuukutsu na omoi wo suru) means
to feel ill at ease, and in the JP version, he's definitely
apologizing for making her feel that way, rather than
telling her not to.

But why is she acting almost like
she just met him, why is she suddenly using more formal
speech (in the JP version), and when did she have time
to talk to Edgar about Lock (or anything else, for that matter)?
Maybe her memory's acting up, though that still doesn't
explain the part about talking to Edgar. Was there a story
rewrite and they just forgot to revise this line?

{Lock}: {Edgar} is bound in alliance with
the Empire on the surface, but behind
the scenes he wants to join forces with
an anti-Imperial group, the Returners.
I'm the go-between for that.

{LOCKE}: On the surface, {EDGAR} pretends to support the Empire.
The truth is, he's collaborating with the Returners, an organization opposed to the Empire.
I am his contact with that group...

{ﾛｯｸ}「君がナルシェで会った
老人もリターナーの仲間だ。
{ﾃｨﾅ}「帝国…私は帝国の兵士…

{Lock}: The old man you met in Narshe
is a fellow Returner too.
{Tina}: The Empire... I'm an Imperial soldier...

{LOCKE}: The old man you met in Narshe is one of us.
{TERRA}: Empire...but I'm a soldier of the Empire...!

{ﾛｯｸ}「…だった。
帝国にあやつられたウソの姿。
でも今は違う。

{Lock}: ...were.
You were manipulated by the Empire;
that's all fake. But now it's different.

{LOCKE}: That's not true!
They were using you!
Things are different now.

{ﾃｨﾅ}「よく……わからない。
どうしていいか
頭が……いたいわ。

{Tina}: I really... don't understand.
Thinking about what I should
do... makes my head hurt.

{TERRA}: I don't understand...
What should I do?

{ﾛｯｸ}「これからは自分の意志を
持てって事さ。
今はあまり深く考えない事。
道はいずれ見えてくるから。

{Lock}: It means you've got your
own will from now on.
Don't think too hard about it now.
Your way will come into sight soon enough.

{LOCKE}: I can't tell you what to do.
You don't have to decide right now.
You'll soon find your way...

Hey! The NA version is missing the
deep stuff about free will! :-P

Lock leaves the room. The music fades out.

{ﾃｨﾅ}「自分の意志……

{Tina}: My own will...

{TERRA}: But how will I know
which way is right...

She's supposed to be contemplating
what it means to have her own will, not whining about how to tell what the
right thing to do is...

Scene change: Edgar lies in bed in his room
on the other side of the castle, likely some time later. Soon,
however, something bothers him and he gets out of bed, moving
towards the doorway. "The Empire "Gestahl""
plays.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「……？
もしや？！

{Edgar}: ...?
Could this be!?

{EDGAR}: ...?
What the...!?

He rushes over to the courtyard to find the castle
on fire, and the soldiers helplessly panicking.

I'm just wondering... isn't the castle made of stone?
So... how is it on fire? Also, the castle soldiers need to work on discipline,
unless they're faking it.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「何事だ！？
兵士「帝国が！
ケフカが！！

{Edgar}: What's going on!?
Soldier: The Empire!
Cefca!!

{EDGAR}: What's happening?
SOLDIER: It's the Empire!
It's Kefka!

At this, Cefca strides in with his two guards.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「何をする！？

{Edgar}: What are you doing!?

{EDGAR}: What are you doing?

...and after making Edgar too confrontational
earlier, the NA version drops an exclamation point now that it's called for...

ｹﾌｶ「娘をだせ！
{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「いないといっているだろう！
ｹﾌｶ「なら
ここでみな焼け死ぬんだな。
ヒッヒッヒ！

Cefca: Hand over the girl!
{Edgar}: I told you, she's not here!
Cefca: In that case,
you'll all burn to death now.
Hee, hee, hee!

Edgar calmly walks to the far end of the courtyard
and speaks to the soldier in front of the main door.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「あれの用意を……
兵士「はッ！

{Edgar}: Prepare for you-know-what...
Soldier: Sir!

{EDGAR}: Get ready...!
SOLDIER: Yes, Sir!

He disappears inside,
and Cefca walks up to Edgar.

ｹﾌｶ「決心はついたかな？

Cefca: Made your decision?

KEFKA: Changed your mind...?

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「そろそろいいか…

{Edgar}: Guess it's about time...

{EDGAR}: I guess I have no choice...

Possibly at an offscreen signal, he suddenly
runs to the edge, jumps off, and lands on one of three chocobo
that run up just then. "Locke" starts playing.

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「ハッ！

{Edgar}: Ha!

{EDGAR}: Or maybe I do!

ｹﾌｶ「おやおや
王様はひとりで
お逃げになるようですよ！
こりゃあユカイ！
ヒッヒッヒ！

Cefca: Oh dear me,
it seems the king is
fleeing all by himself!
How delightful!
Hee, hee, hee!

KEFKA: Ackk!
Shameful that a king should
flee, leaving his people behind!
How utterly delightful!

As Edgar rounds the back of the castle, he yells...

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「乗れ！

{Edgar}: Get on!

{EDGAR}: Jump!

...and Lock and Tina, already in position on the
beam to the side tower where Tina was staying, hop on the other two chocobo.
Cefca comes out to watch as Edgar circles around to the front of the castle.
There Edgar pauses long enough to shout...

{ｴﾄﾞｶﾞｰ}「いいぞ！しずめろ！

{Edgar}: Okay! Submerge!

{EDGAR}: OK! Dive now!!!

{ﾛｯｸ}「ひゃっほーー！

{Lock}: Yahooooo!

{LOCKE}: Yahoooo!

A great rumbling knocks Cefca off his feet,
and the castle begins to sink into the sand.

兵士「フィガロ潜航モード
セットオン！

Soldier: Activating Figaro
subterranean mode!

SOLDIER: Figaro Submerge Mode engaged!

大臣「さあ！
黄金の大海原にダイブする
フィガロの勇姿！
とくと見せてやるわ！！

Chancellor: Now!
Behold Figaro as she dives
into the great golden ocean!
Enjoy your front-row seats!!